1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a pile protection guard for preventing ice formations from collecting on and subsequently extracting a pile as a result of a variation of tide level.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,388, issued Sept. 19, 1978 to Applicant, severe damage may be caused to timber or tapered section pilings in freezing weather in tidal waters, the reason being that the water freezes and establishes ice formations around the pilings during high tides. As the tide falls or ebbs the ice mass that has formed around the pile is lowered as a result of the falling water level. At low tide the ice freezes in the void area created when the ice mass slides down the tapered pile section, and subsequently, when the tide rises, this ice interreacts with the piling to lift and eventually extract the base of the piling from the hole or bore into which it had been previously driven at the bottom of the water body. During the time periods of constant freezing conditions, the cyclical action of the tide will actually extract the piling completely from the bottom of the water body.
To counteract the adverse effects of ice formations on pilings, many proposed devices have been adapted to pilings with varying degrees of success. However, none of these devices have proven to be wholly successful as well as being of a simple and economical construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,299 to Clark discloses a device in the form of a sheath situated around a pile in the shape of a cylinder, extending above the high water line and below the point at which ice freezes. An insulating material is carried in a ring at the upper portion of the sheath so that the water contained inside the sheath retains more heat and therefore prevents freezing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,099 to Mikolajczyk et al. discloses a pile protector in the form of a sheath positioned around a pile and containing an inner lining of material having a low friction coefficient. The sheath extends below the point at which ice forms and also above the high water mark. A spring is placed between the top of the sheath and the bottom of the dock and thus, when ice is frozen around the sheath and the tide is rising, the sheath moves upwardly and compresses the spring. Moreover, when the tide lowers, the spring returns the sheath to its original position and therefore, the sheath moves up and down around the pile preventing any upward force on the pile itself.